"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:11
Free from distractions, I went to my room to be alone. This time was full of prayer, worship, confession, relaxation, and some stretching exercises as well. Then Adeline dropped.
My midwife appointment was two days later and was held in the room Weston was born in. I've never had an appointment in that room before so it felt special and I wanted this to be the last before seeing my little girl's face.
Prodromal labor continued for another day (3+ weeks in total) but crampiness accompanied the contractions, meaning active labor was near. At 10:45pm on February 22nd, I began having contractions comparable to menstrual cramps, 5 minutes apart. Despite the waves, I went to bed an hour later assuming it was prodromal labor. Then I had a dream were I was leaning over the kitchen counter during contractions. They hadn't stopped when I fell asleep.
Family came in and out to visit with me and when a contraction would come, my focus would turn inward. I found it incredibly comforting to repeat Jesus' name slowly and rhythmically with my abdominal breathing. Pain is not a word I would use to describe my sensations when fear was absent. The waves were powerful, but I knew God was stronger.
Contractions started becoming intense around 7:10am and there wasn't but 30 seconds to 1 minute between them. Even though getting out of the pool was difficult, I made sure to use the restroom frequently so the birth outlet could be completely relaxed and chances of tearing would be minimized. Weston woke up at 7:20am, greeted me, then waited patiently for the sound of a baby's cry on the other side of the bedroom door.
Minutes later, I felt it was time to start breathing Adeline down. I began throat breathing (or "J" breathing), but found it difficult to focus and relax adequately because the bag of waters was bulging uncomfortably, so I gently pinched and broke it at 7:34am. I pushed with contractions and kind of rested in the seconds between. When she was crowning, I still hadn't regained my focus so my breath became shallow and my confidence wavered. Stephanie reminded me to pant so baby would be born slowly. I did so and once her head and shoulders were born, so much pressure disappeared. The relief was wonderful! The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and body once so Stephanie and the birth doula, Catrice, unwound it, then I pulled her up out of the water and she was born at 7:38am. I immediately cried for joy. So much had led up to this moment.
My midwife appointment was two days later and was held in the room Weston was born in. I've never had an appointment in that room before so it felt special and I wanted this to be the last before seeing my little girl's face.
Prodromal labor continued for another day (3+ weeks in total) but crampiness accompanied the contractions, meaning active labor was near. At 10:45pm on February 22nd, I began having contractions comparable to menstrual cramps, 5 minutes apart. Despite the waves, I went to bed an hour later assuming it was prodromal labor. Then I had a dream were I was leaning over the kitchen counter during contractions. They hadn't stopped when I fell asleep.
I woke at 3:00am on February 23rd to strong contractions I couldn't ignore. Before waking Jeremy, I timed them for 30 minutes and they were 3-5 minutes apart. He tried to move Abigail out of our room to a quieter place to sleep, but once she realized baby was coming there was no chance of getting her to bed again. She immediately got to work and began decluttering my room and cleaning sinks. Best little helper I could ever ask for!
I called my midwife, Stephanie, to let her know what was happening and she responded with, "Are you sure? I just went to bed at 2:00am." She had just delivered 3 babies within the past 24hrs! At this point I knew I was in active labor but have had false alarms before and was worried I'd waste more people's time again. I told her to head on over. Next, I called my mom and asked her to come but told her not to alert anyone else until my cervical dilation was checked. I continued timing my contractions for an hour before Stephanie came and they were 2-6 minutes apart. There wasn't much of a break in between when on my feet, so I chose to labor in bed for a while and allow my muscles to go limp while breathing abdominally.
At 4:40am, my midwife arrived and checked my cervix. I was overjoyed to hear I was 6-7cm dilated! My mom arrived at 4:45am, but went back home to wake my sister after learning how close birth could be. Jeremy was busy filling the tub; hauling boiling water from the kitchen so the water would feel just right. His mom and sister arrived around 5:30am, then I got into the pool to relax.
Family came in and out to visit with me and when a contraction would come, my focus would turn inward. I found it incredibly comforting to repeat Jesus' name slowly and rhythmically with my abdominal breathing. Pain is not a word I would use to describe my sensations when fear was absent. The waves were powerful, but I knew God was stronger.
Contractions started becoming intense around 7:10am and there wasn't but 30 seconds to 1 minute between them. Even though getting out of the pool was difficult, I made sure to use the restroom frequently so the birth outlet could be completely relaxed and chances of tearing would be minimized. Weston woke up at 7:20am, greeted me, then waited patiently for the sound of a baby's cry on the other side of the bedroom door.
Minutes later, I felt it was time to start breathing Adeline down. I began throat breathing (or "J" breathing), but found it difficult to focus and relax adequately because the bag of waters was bulging uncomfortably, so I gently pinched and broke it at 7:34am. I pushed with contractions and kind of rested in the seconds between. When she was crowning, I still hadn't regained my focus so my breath became shallow and my confidence wavered. Stephanie reminded me to pant so baby would be born slowly. I did so and once her head and shoulders were born, so much pressure disappeared. The relief was wonderful! The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and body once so Stephanie and the birth doula, Catrice, unwound it, then I pulled her up out of the water and she was born at 7:38am. I immediately cried for joy. So much had led up to this moment.
Abigail quickly came to my side to meet her new baby sister. This was the ultimate homeschool lesson, haha! Not only did she get to witness labor and delivery, she was able to learn about the amniotic sac, umbilical cord, vernix, placenta, & breastfeeding. I believe this is how birth was meant to be. When the family unit is separated during birth, it can become a thing we fear because it's no longer familiar. One of my greatest hopes for my daughters is that they will know what an absolute blessing birth could be and that it's not an experience that's been "cursed". Adam and Eve had to labor to earn the fruit of the womb and the fruit of the ground, not suffer.
All the attending women plus Weston piled in the room to see the little one. I don't think Weston knew what to think! He just studied Adeline & I; probably wondering why I was in a pool inside the house. Crampiness continued and the placenta was delivered 30 minutes later. We moved to the bed for some skin to skin and so the kids could get a better look at her. Abigail exclaimed, "Aww, she's so slimy and cute!
In January, I had crocheted a rainbow cord tie to use in place of a plastic clamp. My midwife knotted it tight, then Jeremy cut the umbilical cord 2 hours after birth. I intended on delaying the clamping for only an hour but the placenta took longer than expected and time just flew by once we were resting in bed.
We weighed/measured Adeline and she was 8lbs even measuring 20 and a half inches long! My biggest baby yet! Jeremy took Adeline to the living room to meet all the family members who were able to come while Stephanie and Catrice took care of me. Before starting the shower, they checked to see if I needed stitches and to my surprise, I was fully intact! Praise God!
Each pregnancy, birth, and postpartum has pulled me closer to God than I have ever been before. With each child He gifts us, I feel more and more blessed. My cup runneth over. I cannot describe how incredibly thankful I am to have been able to birth in my own home and I HIGHLY recommend every expecting mother to look into it and pray over their current birth plan. Pray for God to take your birth plan and change it to line up with His will. You will be blown away with the detail he puts into it! Much more than you could ever write down.
3 days later, Jeremy asked, "So will any more babies be born in this home?"
I responded, "This can't be the last time...I've got to do it again."
God willing.
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5
